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The first name that comes to mind when you think about social
media might not be Google Plus.
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest enjoy greater buzz. Why
then should your small business use Google Plus?

There are some very compelling arguments in favor of including
Google+ in a social media
marketing strategy.

Google Plus has a huge user base. With more than
540 million active monthly users, Google Plus sees its number of
users increase daily. Facebook continues to be the social media
behemoth with the most users. But the increase in web traffic via
this site indicates that businesses can choose to ignore it at
their own peril. Besides, the value of grabbing the first mover
advantage over one's competition cannot be overstated. Google+
users are often early adopters and technology lovers. Your
customers will be on it sooner rather than later and many
probably already are.

Make use of Google Hangouts. With Google
Hangouts, free live video conferencing can take place for as many
as 10 people. The benefits for a small business are obvious: You
can reach out to customers, dealers, vendors and social media
contacts at no cost. You can also participate in Hangouts
initiated by others and communicate with thought leaders in your
niche.

Be cognizant of the Google connection. Google is
at the epicenter of all search
engines. While Bing is also a player, Google is still the big
daddy. There is sufficient anecdotal evidence to suggest that
profiles that do well on Google+ get indexed quicker on Google.
Add to that the fact that Google Plus business pages are
beginning to show up on search engine results pages, and you have
two very strong reasons to work on establishing a presence here.
Integration of Google’s many
services with one another, such as Google+ with Youtube, search,
etc. is perhaps inevitable. Be there to take advantage of it.

Take advantage of Google+ reviews. With Google+
reviews showing up on search results, potential customers might
be influenced to choose your business if they come across
positive reviews. Therefore, provide great service and
proactively solicit reviews on Google+. Nothing beats a favorable
reference from one human being to another. Along the same lines,
searchers looking for local businesses, particularly those on the
move and using mobiles can find your store if your Google+
business page carries the relevant information with Google Maps
embedded, office hours and your phone number. This is truly
a requirement for any small business.

Explore Google+ Ripples. Google Plus is a
feature-rich social media platform; you can leverage Circles,
Hangouts, Hangouts on Air, Communities and Ripples. The latter
category can be particularly useful for small businesses. It is a
data visualization graph that lets you take in at a glance the
manner in which your content has been shared. You can easily
learn about your more enthusiastic and influential followers.
Ripples is also a fun tool to use and worth checking out.

It’s highly likely that your customers are already on Google+ and
your regular activity on social media can be a valuable signal to
others and it will help boost your search engine ranking. Google+
has a gold mine of worthwhile content that you can draw
inspiration from and curate. If you’re not already on Google+,
it’s time to start using one of the most powerful tools
online.